Trent Richardson: Luck and I 'plan to win a lot of games'

Sep. 19, 2013
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Indianapolis Colts running back Trent Richardson, top center, talks about joining the NFL team after being traded by the Cleveland Browns as he meets with the media in the locker room in Indianapolis, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2013. / Michael Conroy, AP

by Mike Chappell, USA TODAY Sports

by Mike Chappell, USA TODAY Sports

INDIANAPOLIS -- Running back Trent Richardson, a day after the blockbuster trade that brought him from the Cleveland Browns, was encircled by the media at his new home in the Indianapolis Colts locker room.

He answered one question after another. His eyes seemed to come alive when the subject of being paired with quarterback Andrew Luck was broached.

Luck, 24, was the first overall pick in the 2012 draft. Richardson, 23, was the third overall pick that year by the Browns.

The young quarterback getting a young running back for his offensive mix?

"I like to call it like a one-two punch, you know what I'm saying?" Richardson said. "Me and Andrew, we've been around each other for quite a while now, being from the Heisman to the draft and training and stuff."

Luck finished second to Robert Griffin III in the 2011 Heisman Trophy voting. Richardson was third. They spent time together in New York for the award ceremonies and again for the April draft.

"Andrew's a good guy," Richardson said. "Just meeting him and his family, you know what type of person he is.

"Knowing we're going to grow together, how young we are (is exciting). We're going to be here for a while. We're not planning to go nowhere.

"We plan to be here and we plan to grow and we plan to win a lot of games."

The Colts invested heavily in the 5-9, 230-pound Richardson. His acquisition cost them their 2014 first-round pick, and comes on the heels of losing leading rusher Vick Ballard for the season with a knee injury.

Coach Chuck Pagano insisted trading for Richardson was a no-brainer.

"When it's the player that it is, I don't know how you pass it up or don't give it some thought, try to make it work," he said.

When asked if Richardson would play Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers, Pagano replied: "We did not bring him in here to, I guess, be the water boy on Sunday. He'll be ready to roll."

In 17 games with the Browns, Richardson rushed 298 times for 1,055 yards (3.5 yards per carry) and 11 touchdowns and caught 58 passes for 418 yards and one TD.

"He's a game-breaker," Pagano said.

Chappell covers the Colts for the Indianapolis Star, a Gannett property.